Pages

Monday, September 10, 2018

DIY Chrome Book Sleeve

If you ask her, Frances will tell you that high school is "okay." If you ask me, I think she's doing a pretty good job of getting acclimated. It's a big school and a lot of changes. Her schedule is very different from the types of schedules she's had before. She has "A" days and "B" days and full year classes and semester classes. Looking at it all written down on one page makes me cross-eyed.

One of the things she's been most looking forward to is her new Chrome Book. All Freshman and transfer students get one. She's supposed to bring it to school every day to use and take good care of it. When she graduates, they'll remove all the managing software and she'll get to keep it. That's an incentive to keep it in good shape, I guess. My problem is that they didn't give them any cases to protect these devices. So guess what?! We decided to make one.

You can adapt this to fit any type of device that you want. I'm horrible at measuring things, so I don't have exact numbers for you, but you can still follow this pretty easily. Frances was actually going to make this herself, but she got distracted by a TV show and I wanted something to do!

To make a protective sleeve you will need:

Two coordinating fabrics, a few inches wider than your device and two and a half times longer. We chose a regular cotton for the outside and a softer flannel for the inside.

Thicker fabric for extra padding. We used a soft felt we had left over from something else. It needs to be the same size as your other fabric.

Coordinating thread

Buttons

Chopstick (optional)

Start by making a sandwich. A fabric sandwich, that is. Put your two fabrics right sides together and then add the padding layer on top. Starting about a third of the way in on one of the short sides, sew all the way around in the shape of a gift tag, leaving an opening so you can flip the fabric right sides out.

Trim your seams and clip your corners, to remove bulk from the edges. Then flip the whole thing right side out through the gap you left.You can use a chopstick to help pop out your corners. Once it's all turn the right way, iron it, especially around the edges to make sure it all lies flat.

Turn in the raw edges from the hole you flipped the fabric through and pin it in place. Starting there, top stitch all the way around the sleeve.This will give a more finished look to your final project.

If you are adding a pocket, make another sandwich like you did for the main body of the sleeve. Sew just the top edge and turn the rest the right way out. Clip the bottom corners at a 45 degree angle and fold the sides and bottom in and iron them to help crease them and get them ready for sewing. Line up the top edge of the pocket with what will be the inside edge of the sleeve. Pin the pocket in place and top stitch it on.

Set your device in the middle of the fabric and fold the bottom up and top down to make sure it will fit in the way you want it to. Make sure you do this with the inside fabric facing out. Pin the edges and sew them up. Then flip the whole thing right side out.

Slide your device inside just to make sure everything fits. Turn down the top flap and decide where you want your buttons. Make their location and then sew your bottom holes on the flap. Add your buttons in the appropriate locations.

Make sure to yell at your button hole foot. That's the only way to make mine work, apparently.

Put your device in the sleeve and the charger in the pocket. Button it up and show it off! You are now rocking high school like a boss!

This month's Blog With Friends theme is "Rock It!" If you want to see how my friends interpreted that, keep reading!